Podcast #53: US power plants, Farm in a box + Great Barrier Reef

This podcast includes the following stories:

1. US Environmental Protection Agency's bid to curb emissions from power plants
2. Inventor in Kenya wants everyone to become farmers
3. My web picks
4. UNESCO and Leonardo DiCaprio warn Australia over Great Barrier Reef

Listen to more CoolGreen episodes here

The Smallest Farm in the World
Satao - A Legend (Mark Deeble)
Armadillo of the World cup (BBC - Science in Action)

Podcast #52: Japan whaling ban, Selling human waste + YearsOfLivingDangerously

This podcast includes the following stories:

1. What does the ban on Japan's Antarctic whaling mean?
2. Selling sewage to help boost sanitation in Kenya
3. My web picks
4. Deal to start mining the sea bed in Papua New Guinea
5. Reviews of the US documentary series Years of Living Dangerously

Listen to more CoolGreen episodes here

The Goldman Prize
Goldman Prize on YouTube
Costing The Earth debate on IPCC report (BBC)
Dan Charles' report on fish farming for All Things Considered (NPR)
Years of Living Dangerously on YouTube

Human waste as fuel

Dried human waste could be the next big business opportunity in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as helping to flush out the problem of poor sanitation, according to a start-up in the coastal city of Mombasa.

Waste Enterprisers believes the "faecal sludge" found in pit latrines and septic tanks could be used as industrial fuel in place of imported coal and other biofuels. 

The company's CEO, Dr Ashley Muspratt, said that dried waste has been shown to burn at least as well as coffee husks and palm nut shells in tests. Unlike these more common biofuels, there is a plentiful local supply of sewage all year round. 

"I like to talk about what we're doing as replacing [sewage] treatment plants with factories. When you talk about factories you're talking about bringing in a raw material and putting out a value-added product," Dr Muspratt said. 

A pile of dried sludge in Kampala (Moritz Gold / SANDEC)

Podcast #51: New ways of monitoring Earth from Space; Apple CEO takes on conservative think tank + The lonely tree

This podcast includes the following stories:

1. Two new schemes tom monitor rainfall and deforestation from Space
2. My top environmental web picks
3. Apple CEO Tim Cook tells climate skeptic think tank where to put their money
4. A community's attempt to save the tree it loves 

Listen to more CoolGreen episodes here

Global Precipitation Measurement mission (NASA)

Info graphic of Global Precipitation Measurement satellite (Space.com)

Global Forest Watch

The Passing of a Giant (Mark Deeble)

Nuclear Waste's Final Destination (BBC Costing The Earth)

Show Me The Way To Go Home (BBC Discovery)

A town's love for one tree (Guardian)

Can we really divest fossil fuels?

There is a student movement sweeping college campuses in the US. It calls for colleges to pull their investments - or to divest - from fossil fuel companies.

At least 300 schools have active campaigns - some bigger than others, and some further along than others, but still 300 is impressive.

Their manifesto is an article by the journalist-turned-activist Bill McKibben which appeared in Rolling Stone magazine almost a year ago. It argues that divestment on college campuses helped bring about the end of Apartheid, so why not climate change?

Podcast #47: The Divest movement sweeping the US, Singapore haze + The month's best environmental web picks

This podcast includes the following stories:

1. The Divest Fossil Fuel movement sweeping the US
2. My top environmental web picks
3. Singapore battles the dreaded haze
4. Britain's energy quagmire
5. A farmer responds to the suggestion of feeding his cows insects

Listen to more CoolGreen episodes here

Is Kraftwerk anti-nuclear?

German electro band Kraftwerk have updated the lyrics of their 1975 song Radioactivity to cement its status as an anti-nuclear anthem.

As pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk's whole image was futuristic and utopian. With lyrics like "I programme a home computer, beam myself into the future" and "fun fun fun on the Autobahn" there was usually an underlying suggestion that the future - and especially future technology - would be beneficial to the human race. 

The original lyrics of Radioactivity were minimal and passed no explicit judgement on nuclear energy.

Kraftwerk performing Radioactivity in London in February 2013

But again there was an implication that the technology was helpful:

Radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me 

But come 1991, the song was updated to list the names of famous nuclear disasters: Chernobyl, Fukushima, Harrisburgh… The following lyrics were also added:

Chain reaction and mutation
Contaminated population
Stop radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me

Is Climate Change back on Obama's agenda?

We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. 

Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.

An excerpt of President Obama's inaugural address today. It has been widely remarked upon that the address was both more specific on policies than expected, and that climate change was given a prominent mention.

1.5 of the 18 minutes of the speech was devoted to the issue. That may not sound like a lot, but given the deafening silence on the campaign trail, and for much of his first term, it is significant.